Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Fighting Blood Cancers

More than 138,000 Americans
will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma,
and myeloma this year. For
many, a trusted source of information
and support will be The Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
(also known as LLS), headquartered in
White Plains, NY, with 68 chapters in
the United States and Canada, is a voluntary
health organization dedicated to
funding blood cancer research and providing
education and patient services.

LLS offers free educational materials
and services for people with blood
cancer and their families – from booklets,
Webcasts, and telephone education
programs to professionally led Family
Support Groups, one-to-one support,
and helpful financial aid programs.

“LLS is there for patients and
their families, from the first days
of diagnosis, through treatment
and survivorship,” says Hildy
Dillon, senior vice president of
patient services.

A Long and Helpful History
LLS was born out of a New York family’s
grief following the death of their
teenage son. In 1949, frustrated by the
lack of effective treatments for what
was then considered a hopeless disease,
parents Rudolph and Antoinette de Villiers started a fundraising and
education organization in their son’s
name. The foundation grew steadily,
changing its name to The Leukemia
Society of America in the 1960s and
then The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society in 2000.

Increased funding from generous
donors meant that LLS was able to
identify promising young researchers
and help support their work. With the
help of major fund raising campaigns,
including Team In Training®, a charity
sports training program, and Light
The Night® Walk, LLS has supported
more than $600 million in blood cancer
research since 1949. Major programs
include the Specialized Center of
Research and the Therapy Acceleration
Program.

The commitment to cutting-edge
science has contributed to an unprecedented
rise in survival rates for some
blood cancers. The relative five-year
survival rate for people with leukemia,
for example, nearly quadrupled in
the past 50 years. Hodgkin lymphoma
is now considered one of the
most curable forms of cancer, thanks
to radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination
of the two.

For more information, visit www.LLS.org,contact a local chapter, or speak with an information
specialist at LLS's national Information Resource Center by calling (800) 955-4572.

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This article was originally published in Coping® with Cancer magazine,
January/February
2009.